Day four of making the most at the low limit tables

Beware TPTK

Top Pair Top Kicker (“TPTK”) is a great hand, to start with. In certain games, it is enough on its own. But not in low stakes no limit. This can be where the majority of traditional strategies fall down.

In these games you might be ahead, but you might not. And even if you are, you don’t know who is chasing you down. Not only do these games attract people who don’t have a coherent strategy and therefore are virtually impossible to read with any degree of certainty, they also attract other players like yourself. People who arelooking for Cheap Flops with hands that will give them a set or above. Even if you dodge all the fish, there will be a number of other chasers playing a considered strategy who easily could have hit a set.

You may need to adjust your expectation. A pair is small hand and should bring down small pots. Don’t look to these cards to produce monster pots, far too optimistic.
A great many times I have seen people go all in on the flop with TPTK, only to see their opponent turn over a set, or a random two pair.

You will also see so many occasions where a more moderate bet is made, a decent size pot is built only for someone to hit a draw on the river. You can’t seem to win! River beats suck but you need to ride them out. Don’t ever be tempted to dwell on them, concentrate on your next hole cards.

One final point on big pairs and other non-nut hands. Do not bet the river if someone has just called flop and turn. If they check to you, check it out. Why? If they were drawing and missed they won’t call you anyway. If they were slow playing, or drawing and hit, or just felt like a bluff, you’ve upped the pot and given them the ability to come over the top of you. It could be suicide.